Good starting point and good career
Pros
This was my first company out of college and I stayed as a management employee for 11 years. I got a lot of on the job training and experience that has made me feel confident enough in my skills to take on new challenges. I really like that they promote diversity in the workplace. The benefits are great. I took advantage of all of it, and I would recommend that everyone does so. The 401k match, health benefits, tuition assistance, learning center, development and leadership workshops/opportunities are selling points. Salary is competitive, and depending on the organization you join, there are plenty of opportunities to move up. Depending on your organization's budget, you can get a hefty bonus and raise. Some positions are open to work at home and remote locations. I was recently laid off and was given a decent severance package, so if that's important to you, Verizon will take care of you in that regard.
Cons
It's just not stable. I don't know how I survived 11 years. There was always a big RIF (reduction in force, or layoff) at least once a year across all areas of the organization. I know this is just the nature of Corporate America today, so I can't pinpoint this on just Verizon. But it sucks because each business unit handles this differently. Some organizations don't allow lateral movement to other groups - so you may be stuck as a "lifer" if you don't want to grow under one group. Office politics are huge. Good ole' boy mentality and cronyism runs deep. A lot of people get paid way too much to do so little, and take advantage of it. The infrastructure and hiring process just \makes it easy for people to do so. Because of all the RIF's, I believe people only had enough motivation just to keep themselves afloat.
